Happy Birthday Sissy!

I hope you have a FANTASTIC birthday! I wish I was there to take you to Primrose Retreat for a birthday cupcake! Go ahead and eat one for me :) I hope the kids give you that present you want. (cleaning their rooms) Let me know about that one!

The end of a very fun day! Let's go get some hot chocolate and dry clothes... Becca wants to go again tomorrow :)

They are verrrry cold! My finger was cold from clicking the pictures! When we drove home it was 11 degrees!

Here's the brains behind this family excursion... He had as much fun as the kids! Thanks Dad!

Soooo much fun!

Mr. Grayson is in charge on that sled! He had fun racing friends down the hill. We had some close calls!

Little Miss becca enjoying her time in the snow. She was fearless on that very steep hill!

I hope you can read these letters to Santa. (just click on the picture and you should be able to read it) These kids just make me laugh so much! How sweet are they? Santa did leave a "response". Santa told them thanks for the cookies, but he was very cold and wearing big gloves, so he couldn't write very well :) When Becca woke up she was mad that he didn't eat ALL the cookies. We told her that he had a lot of snacks that night!

Becca and I had a blast decorating our own gingerbread house. There was only one problem... we ran out of frosting! Oh well! Next year we will be more prepared.

Becca had her Christmas program the day we left for Mesa. She loved being up there singing! She also got to dance with a classmate to the song "Holiday Ho Ho Ho Down". (I wasn't able to get a picture that wasn't blurry) Here are some pictures of her and her bestest buddies. She has a great class this year. She loves her teacher ~ Ms. Trickey. She wants to thank her Aunt Jana for such a great Ms. Claus dress!

Becca hanging out with Eli in the hospital. She loves him so much!

On Saturday I sat with Eli in the hospital while Gregg got to take Becca to the mall for some shopping. They didn't want to wait in line for Santa, so she decided Frosty was just as good! They had a really great time! Becca was able to introduce Gregg to Claire's. She loves that store! She really wanted to get her ears pierced but she doesn't want it to hurt, maybe next time :)

Hey Everyone! I am finally able to sit down and let you know what's new.

Becca and I went to Mesa to pick up Gregg and Eli last Thursday. We got to the hotel just as he was starting his dialysis. I had to take pictures much to his dismay :) It just fascinates me how this whole thing works. After I took these pictures I went to get us something to eat.

We had dinner and then Eli started to complain about a headache. After about an hour, he was laying down holding his head again. I took his blood pressure and it was 160. I freaked out because this is what happened before his last seizure. I called the doctor and he told me to bring him back to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital his blood pressure was 175, they admitted him again. He was out of the hospital less than 24 hours. They said he was having a "spinal" headache, from his spinal tap days earlier. They did a blood patch the next day and his headache went away. His blood pressure was still out of control and his oxygen levels were very low.

They kept him for another four days.

John, Eli and Jacob before Prom...

I am embarassed to say... this is the only picture I have of Eli that I can download right now. I am pretty computer illiterate and I can only get the pictures that are stored in my computer. Hopefully, I can figure it out soon :)

Eli was in Mesa last week doing dialysis all week. He is now a pro! He drove home Saturday and got home around four. After a couple of hours he started complaining about a headache. I told him he probably overdid it in Mesa and needed some rest. We were all in bed by ten!

Around 7:00 am Gregg woke up and walked through the house, as he was crossing the living room he glanced over and saw Eli on the floor holding his head. He tried to talk to him and ask him what was going on. He wouldn't respond.

He came and woke me up. We tried to ask him questions and he wouldn't answer. I went and got some blankets and pillows because he was shaking like he was cold.

We tried to turn him on his side because I knew he was pinching the catheter in his stomach. We started rolling him over and he started having a grand mal seizure. I called 911. After what seemed like an eternity he stopped. He then went into some sort of trance.

The paramedics got here and loaded him into the ambulance as it was snowing. Gregg went with him. I stayed to take care of Grayson and Becca. They had witnessed their brother and they were quite scared.

Eli had another grand mal seizure on the way to Show Low.

They got him to the ER and immediately gave him seizure medication and morphine. They tried to stabilize him. Eli had another grand mal seizure. After 45 minutes they decided he needed a cat scan. Gregg was watching the cat scan when he saw his back starting to arch. He ran in there as fast as he could.

Eli had another grand mal seizure while in the cat scan machine.

It was snowing so badly that they could not fly him in the helicopter to Phoenix. They took him in an ambulance to the Show Low airport to fly to Phoenix by airplane. Gregg was able to fly with him. They got into Sky Harbor airport and went by ambulance to Banner Baywood Hospital. They had a room in ICU waiting for him.

He was in ICU for three days. They moved him to a regular room today. He does not remember a thing. He sounds good, a little shaky. It is hard to understand him because his tongue is so swollen from biting it so hard. He is very sore. The hospital does not understand how he didn't have a stroke. It is literally a MIRACLE!

I want to thank everyone for ALL you have done to help our family during this scary event! With everything he has been through we are planning a very low key Christmas. I just want to sit by Eli and hold his hand and let him know everything is going to be alright.

Happy Birthday Graysoni!

This is my little Grayson when he was nine. I was looking through some pictures to find a cute one to put on for his birthday! My little guy turned twelve on the fouth of this month! I couldn't pass this one up! He is such an entertainer, I think this picture captures it all :) It seems like just yesterday I was helping you tie your shoes and wiping your face off from all of your peanut butter moustaches :) We love you Bud!!!

Dialysis Anyone?

The kids called and told me a man was at the house with a delivery for Elijah Bargo. I ran home as quickly as I could to get the delivery... I walked in and about fell over! I tell the nice delivery man that he has left too much! We only have one person on dialysis and it should only be for a month. He looked at me with a nice smile shaking his head. His response was "yes, this is all yours" I gasp and barely try to respond. He told me this was one months worth of peritoneal dialysis liquid. I signed for it, then sat down to catch my breath. Eli has been in Mesa all week by himself. He had to go down to the dialysis clinic everyday from 9-3. He is a trained professional now! He informs us that only one parent is allowed in the room with him while he is dialyzing, and we have to wear masks to help prevent the spread of any infections.

I had to run to Round Valley for an eye appointment today. Carrie rode with me along with Becca, Cassidy and Ashtyn!

While I was in with the doctor the kids played out front in the snow... Becca is jumping around in one picture, while the mittens are trying to "dry" in another.

They did build a rather glamorous snowman! They froze their bottoms off and didn't care a bit! Snow makes everything better! They were wet from head to toe. We scooped them up and took them to McDonalds to get out of the cold.

I hope we get more snow over the holidays, it makes the kids so happy! You never know, we had snow in May after Eli's graduation! Grandma and Papaw Bargo and Aunt Quetha were here from Kentucky. I think they thought they were in the twilight zone. ha ha

Yeah!!!

Done with Thanksgiving...
We drove home from Kingman on Sunday and left Monday morning for Scottsdale. Eli and I were there for a week. He had appointments with the Mayo Clinic for the rest of the week. That is an amazing facility. All of the doctors, surgeons, nurses, phlebotomists (I have to add the phlebotomists because we got to know them VERY well) and just about everyone else you could think of were fabulous! We were in good hands!

Here is Eli driving home with his "mommy" after surgery and a fun filled Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Marolf's. He sure looks happy! (He loves spending quality time with me in the car ha ha we tend to battle over our music choices :) )Poor guy was in a lot of pain. What a little trooper!!!

Hey Everyone!
I wanted to pass along the latest news...
Eli's doctor called last night and informed us that his kidney functions have decreased rapidly from his last appointment. (5 weeks ago) He told us he needed to come to the hospital today. He is being admitted to Banner Baywood Hospital when they get there this afternoon. He will be having surgery first thing in the morning. They are putting in a catheter near his belly button. He will be needing dialysis within a month, he has to have the catheter in for at least two weeks before he starts dialysis. They need to watch it closely for infection. He will be doing dialysis at home. We are going to get his little station set up and get going! We are hoping that this transplant will take place soon.

Becca waiting very patiently for the candy! No, she is not trying to look through the window to hurry this process up!

They are ready for the massive crowd of trick or treaters... How can these two be scary?

Here is Grayson and his buddy getting ready for their evening. Becca is always there to add a little sparkle :)

Becca is quite the little "Diva"! She told everyone she was the "Mini Madonna" She said they didn't know what she was talking about??? ha ha I don't know why her friends don't know who that is? Can you tell she likes to listen to the 80's with her mom?

The finished product!

(Connie and Sam- I haven't found a spot for those pictures I had to have :) )

Grayson has taken over the drilling... watch out!

Becca is trying out the heavy machinery! Look at her concentration!

Out comes the drill! Gregg's favorite way to carve a pumpkin. I think he saw this in a magazine years ago. The pumpkin looks cute when it's full of holes with the light shining through.

Well, here we have Grayson helping clean out the pumpkin while Becca is performing... shocker!

Becca observing how "yucky" it is inside the pumpkin.

The pumpkin carving begins... Yes, Grayson does have a very sharp knife, Gregg is trying to protect himself and Becca is oblivious to it all :)

I just finished reading this book to Becca before she went to bed. I thought I would share this with you all because this book makes me so incredibly happy! I read the Pippi Longstocking books as a child. I watched her on our console t.v. too! How I loved her! I longed to be that free. She was the coolest girl ever!

Pippi Longstocking is not your average little girl. For one, she lives all by herself in a large house, with no parents around to tell her to do anything. Then there's the animal factor. Instead of having a little kitten like a normal girl, Pippi has a pet monkey named Mr. Nelson, and a horse who lives on her porch! But even with all of her strangeness, Tommy and his sister Annika - who just happen to be Pippi's next-door neighbors - think that Miss Longstocking is the best thing to ever happen to them, which is why they try to spend all of their time with her. But the fact that this red-haired girl doesn't go to school puts a damper on their weekdays. But definitely doesn't put a damper on the crazy adventures they have together, as they get into all sorts of mischief and trouble.

Gregg and Eli got up early this morning and went to Scottsdale to Mayo clinic. They met with the head of the nephrology department. It was an informative trip. He is going to ask Dr. Masood about his steroid usage. Yeah! Hopefully no more mood swings !!! :) Dr. Cohen felt like the transplant is further down the road than Dr. Masood. We will have to just take this one day at a time I guess... Not too earth shattering but every little bit helps :)

Time is flying by as I continue to get older! I remember when it took FOREVER for Christmas to come around again. Not so much now! I am trying to remember what has happened since my last update...
Let's see:

Eli had a doctor's appt. and his numbers are not good. His creatinine (protein) level in his blood is very high and his kidney function is decreasing. Gregg has started the testing process for a transplant. He is looking good so far! The doctor said he has a 90% chance of being a match. We are going to meet with a transplant specialist from Mayo, and go from there. Eli is still working about 50 hours a week. He loves the money but I don't know how much longer he can work this hard.

Gregg and Grayson went camping up at Big Lake. We bought out the store of snack items! They go for one night and for some reason I feel like they need enough food for a week?! I know that is soooooo unlike me! ha ha They had a blast. It was freezing, of course, but they slept in the car because the wind and rain pounded all night.

Becca performed at the High School football game with a large group of girls. The cheer squad did an excellent job teaching them the cutest dances and cheers. I will get the pics up as soon as I can get them off of Carrie's camera :) I need to stop using my cell phone for pics because the quality is so poor. I am going to get right on that!

I got my haircut! I know to most of you this isn't a big deal. To me it is huge! I miss my old stylist so much! I have been determined to get to her somehow. With all the craziness of the past few months it hasn't worked out. Thank goodness Connie and Sam had a hair intervention in TJ Maxx! Connie saw a girl with cute hair and said to me "her hair is cute ask her who she goes to" I said "which one"? (There were two girls and they both had cute hair!) I looked and agreed with her. She made some more comments about me asking her and I was ignoring her :) All of a sudden the one girl said " I don't mean to listen to your conversation but we heard you and she is my stylist" (the other girl) Then we stood in the store for thirty minutes talking and laughing about my hair issues. I ended up making an appt. and she was great! I really wanted to go back to Chloe but maybe next time :(

I know I am forgetting something... I guess I will have to add it later. Thanks so much to all of you for being so great! I don't know what I would do without you.

Tons and Tons of Fajitas!

I can't believe I'm done! I couldn't have done it without the help of my great friend Latisha! We stayed up until 2 am last night cutting chicken and veggies. I went over this morning to dominate her time once again! We cooked it all up and then I was off to Gregg's work. After spilling over quite a few times, I made it! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I appreciate it sooooo much! You are the best! I'll hang out until 2 am with you anytime! :) Gregg and Grayson are going on a scout campout tonight. I am busy getting food, tents, sleeping bags and extra clothes ready to go! After I get them off... Becca goes to cheerleading practice right after school. After two hours of practice we are off to the football game where she is performing. I think Eli is going too... :) Although he says he won't sit by me because I am his "mom", I still love him! Someday he will think I am cool! I had about three hours of sleep last night and I was hoping I would get a nap in... no. I will sleep well tonight! (hopefully my insomnia will ease up because I am a zombie) Once again, thanks so much to Latisha for helping me out!